Sioux bus rear ended on trip to Bemidji; nobody hurt

Fortunately, nobody was hurt. But about 5 p.m. Thursday the bus transporting the North Dakota hockey team, including the coaches, was hit from behind.

A driver apparently dozed off. And awoke too late to stop as the bus slowed down near a railroad crossing near Erskine, Minn. Nobody was hurt in the accident but the car was totaled and the Sioux had to wait for another bus, a smaller yellow school bus, to take them the rest of the way.

Their bus was leaking coolant. Not a good thing.

North Dakota hockey sport info. guy Jayson Hajdu tweated and blogged about the incident. Once he knew everyone was OK, Haydu wrote, Sioux associate head coach Cary Eades joked, "They've gotta crack down on all this hitting from behind."

Bet Gophers would have been a couple spots higher at least if Seth Ambroz, a forward playing for Omaha of the USHL, had joined the team. He tried to accelerate his high school education to do so, ran into some snags. He is expected to be a first round NHL draft pick next June, maybe/probably in the top 10.

Three other WCHA teams also made the top 15 classes: 7. St. Cloud State, 8. UMD, 9. Colorado College, 12. Wisconsin and No. 14 Nebraska Omaha, the Gophers opponent this weekend.

Erik Haula of the Gophers is rated No. 7, Nick Bjugstad No. 10. If that looks odd, remember these ratings are based on the impact these players will have in college, not on their pro potential. Bjugstad is 6-5, 210 and Florida picked him No. 19 overall in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft. He appears to be the better pro prospect right now that Haula, a Wild draft pick taken in lower rounds.